Was it really worth bringing a well-meaning citizen to tears over? Now come on, Cedar Park!
Given, the winning design of the new Cedar Park official flag is reminiscent of Amsterdam's (see Cedar Park's original flag design contest flyer below -- they were asking for it!) the color scheme is spot-on and matches the landscape of the Texas Hill Country. The design stands out from among the banality of most city flags with nothing more than a city seal or tourism department logo on a plain background.
And then there are historic examples of controversial flag designs that, when proven unpopular, simply faded into obscurity without the need to assail anyone's creativity or revoke their claim to fame. You made a decision, Cedar Park. Now stand by it ... at least for awhile.
With a modicum of respect due to persnickety vexillologists upset about any deviations from traditional rules of flag-making, we at the Travis Tracker stand by Catherine Van Arnam and all those involved in the original selection process. Catherine is a strong part of the team that makes Austin City Council member Ellen Troxclair's office successful. The Poloniuses at Cedar Park's city hall should respect their municipal colleague and give the flag some time to sink-in to the public psyche before fishing out for a new design.
If we have to put up with so many awful corporate logo redesigns up and down the U.S. Highway 183 corridor and on televisions all across the bedroom community, surely a new flag design wouldn't plague the field of vision for too long -- at least not for as long as plans to turn 183 into a posh shopping district with roundabouts and psychosis-inducing traffic snarls will mar the vision for motorists. You cannot please everyone, and trying to is a fool's errand.
Cedar Park has an opportunity to embrace uniqueness in the form of an unorthodox city flag that does not deviate too far from some great municipal banners from around the world.
As the areas north of Austin race to capture their identity before being swallowed up by a sea of ubiquitous chain stores and cookie-cutter mass housing developments this would be a great opportunity for the community to stand out from among the emerging crowd.
Long may the Cedar Park flag wave.
May as well leave it white.
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Photo credit: Facebook.com, Catherine Van Arnam
Image credit: City of Cedar Park
Photo credit: Facebook.com, Catherine Van Arnam
Image credit: City of Cedar Park
Well said!! They should do the right thing and let Catherine's winning flag design win! Simple concept.
ReplyDeleteOMG...This is my city and -to be frank-, I don't care about hurt feeling. If it was chosen, approved and officially unveiled then it should FLY HIGH. When a council backs down because people are whining and crying about an official act like this, it indicated weakness. TimK
ReplyDeleteRight?! How dare they listen to their constituents.
DeleteWell said!
ReplyDeleteThere was no public input on the selection of the flag. The mayor and two people he picked made the selection. This is more about the unilateral decision making of the mayor and less about the actual design. If they made a survey of 10 flags and this one was chosen, this would not be a story.
ReplyDeleteBut because someone's feelings might get hurt is not a reason to just accept what the mayor did here.
You can watch the City Council meetings and see for yourself, there was a subcommittee of volunteers from council, it was a lengthy and public process (a good one, such as used here https://portlandflag.org/2016/03/09/south-bend-great-new-flag/). Feelings aren't an argument, but valid ones should be heeded.
ReplyDeleteThe subcommittee was 2 council members selected by the mayor and the mayor himself. The only public part of the selection of the flag were the actual submissions. The 3 members then selected the flag. There were no options ever presented for review, discussion, etc.
DeleteWhole thing was public. All meeting agendas were publicly posted and aired, council in session when subcommittee voluntarily formed, open meetings where anyone could choose to come speak, council available on email 24/7, contest rules said "We will be accepting flag design submissions between April 1 - April 30. A final design, or elements from multiple designs, will be selected by the City Council, and the official City of Cedar Park flag will be unveiled at a community event."
Delete"A final design, or elements from multiple designs, will be selected by the City Council" This is the part people have a problem with. There was no input from the public on the selection of the flag. Everything that happened before the council made their selection doesn't matter. The public had no say on the final selection.
Delete